By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Two former Christkindlmarkt board members on Monday said they consider the festival’s financial questions secondary to the fundamental issue of who owns it.
Some of the festival’s supporters have begun calling on the Carmel City Council to investigate Mayor Sue Finkam’s decision to abruptly replace the entire Christkindlmarkt board earlier this month.
Two of the board’s three members were terminated at a meeting on the morning of Oct. 3 and board chair Sue McDermott resigned the next day.
McDermott said they were all “blindsided” by the decision, particularly since Finkam had just brought them on in January to find a way to make the festival financially independent.
“All of us had significant nonprofit experience and had been working diligently to get things ready for this year’s market,” she said. “It was a shock, and at that meeting, we also learned new board members were appointed.”
After more than a dozen people spoke against the decision at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting, Finkam told the council she was concerned by what she called a lack of clarity surrounding the festival’s financial position.
She said she wanted to ensure the festival could reimburse the city for roughly $1.5 million worth of costs. Finkam said she never received the data she wanted.
In separate interviews, McDermott and former board secretary-treasurer Brenda Myers told News 8 Finkam only asked for financial data once, in early July, and never made any follow-up inquiries or gave any indication she was dissatisfied with the board’s response.
The Christkindlmarkt is run on the city’s behalf by the nonprofit Carmel Christkindlmarkt, Inc.
“Since its inception, the market has existed as, and I quote from founding documents, ‘a wholly-controlled subsidiary that supervised, operated and controlled by the city, existing for the sole benefit of the city of Carmel,’” Finkam said at the Oct. 7 meeting.
Board members and council members, though, dispute Finkam’s account.
McDermott and Myers said they were never able to locate a document containing any such wording before they lost their positions on the board. City Council member Jeff Worrell said he has never found any such wording, either.
“The documents do talk about how the Christkindlmarkt is a supporting organization for the city of Carmel in order to carry out certain missions but I can find nothing that uses ‘wholly-owned subsidiary,’” he said. “I have asked for it multiple times.”
McDermott and Myers said Finkam’s decision could jeopardize the festival’s tax-exempt status. Myers said the city owns Carter Green and the festival buildings but the event itself is run by the nonprofit.
Finkam’s office would not make her available for an interview Monday, instead sending a statement from the mayor:
“I made a commitment to taxpayers to protect their interests and, in accordance with CCI’s By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation, I made a change in market governance to gain a full understanding of market financials and how much taxpayers subsidize the event.
As a City, we remain fully focused on supporting our market’s leadership, vendors, and volunteers, to ensure the Carmel Christkindlmarkt remains the best and most authentic market in the country.”
McDermott and Myers are not among those calling for an investigation but Myers said she encourages supporters of the Christkindlmarkt to continue speaking publicly. She said she hopes either the city council or a third party resolves the issue. Worrell said any decision to investigate is ultimately up to the council president.
The next Carmel City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 21.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/local-news/christkindlmarkt-supporters-call-for-investigation-into-ownership-spat.